


Only Ashes Remain

by MelodicMars



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ATEEZ Storyline Event, Gen, dark!wooyoung, hala!wooyoung, it doesnt matter anyway, well kinda, you can decide which side was the good one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25211581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodicMars/pseuds/MelodicMars
Summary: Clarity slowly returned to his eyes. He blinked as he took in the destruction around him. Horror spread across his face as he realized just what he had done. His grip loosened, and the sword fell from his hand, metal clanking loudly covering the thump of his knees hitting the floor.He’d been well and truly played.-The story I wrote for Ateez's storyline event in which Wooyoung chooses the wrong side.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	Only Ashes Remain

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I wrote this story for the Ateez Storyline Event, using [Wooyoung's prompt](https://www.instagram.com/p/CCVcXxppOyg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link). I hope you like it!

A shattered hourglass lay on the floor of the dining hall. Perhaps it had held significance once upon a time. Perhaps in another universe, it could have been used to fix the mistakes he made. But in this one, sand merely spilt out its side, mixing with the splintered wood and broken glass. Bodies laid strewn about upon the mess on the floor, crimson pooling across the tiles beneath them. 

Wooyoung stood at the center of it all. He wiped a hand across his mouth, smearing blood over his lips.

Clarity slowly returned to his eyes. He blinked as he took in the destruction around him. Horror spread across his face as he realized just what he had done. His grip loosened, and the sword fell from his hand, metal clanking loudly covering the thump of his knees hitting the floor. 

He’d been well and truly played. And he had thought he’d been so smart, switching to the other side. Joining the other side who told him they had his best interests at heart, who piled him with praise and attention, who whispered poisonous thoughts wrapped in pretty words in his ear. How had he bought into their lies so easily? They’d told him they were his friends, and he’d just believed them. They told him staying with his crew was the easy way out. They made fake promises of eternity, and happiness. He’d put his trust in the wrong side, turned his back on the people that truly cared.

He hadn’t realized he was being controlled until it was too late for him to break free. He’d spat insults at his crewmates that he didn’t mean, made scathing remarks that cut deep. And then his body had started moving of its own accord. Giving someone a shove as they went down a flight of stairs, making it seem like they had merely tripped. He laced their food and drinks, weakening them. He couldn’t stop himself. As Wooyoung screamed and struggled, chained within his own mind, his crewmates drew away. 

The dead, empty look in his eyes scared them. They knew a traitor was within their midst, and all eyes were on Wooyoung. That at least gave him some peace, and he would momentarily stop tugging at the chains each time he felt their distrust. It was better this way. If they believed even a tiny piece of him to be left, they would drop everything to save him. They would get hurt. He had betrayed them, he did not deserve their sacrifice.

But then his insults and abuse changed to quiet remarks, planting seeds of distrust. It drove a wedge between all the members, making them wary of each other. No one could be trusted but himself, each one decided. In such a state, always on edge, it was easy to knock them off-balance, sneak dark thoughts into their minds.

Eventually, even his mind wasn’t his own. He acted normal again, and slowly, he regained his crewmates' trust. But it was not Wooyoung they were putting their trust in. Someone wore his face and used his voice. Rifled through his thoughts and memories and acted just as he would. But his eyes were wrong. They remained cold and calculating even as his mouth opened and let out laughter. The way he moved was wrong too. Taking just a second too long to react to casual touch. Fighting much too well in battle. But too caught up in their delight of having him back, they didn't notice.

His words crept their way around his crewmates’ thoughts. He warped their perceptions of the other side, until they questioned themselves on why they had never decided to meet with the other side before. They had before, and it had gone badly. 

And now. Now they were gone. Too charmed by his words, his crewmates hadn’t expected a fight. All the odds were stacked against them. The other side was still faster and stronger, and the first time they’d barely escaped with their lives with equal numbers. How were they meant to survive this time? He wrestled for control as they battled, but he was truly aware of very little, and only in small bursts of time. One chain broke, and he managed to twist and take down someone on the other side before fading out of consciousness again. Two more, and he was able to steal control back long enough to injure the other side. There were fewer people moving and fighting than before, he noticed as he lost control. A few more chains broke. The fight was considerably less crowded. The man in his body was fighting him now. His sword shook in his hand as the two of them dragged his body one way, then another. They kept swinging, and Wooyoung couldn’t be sure of who he was hitting. Hats had been knocked off, clothes ripped, everyone covered in blood. Without clear control of his awareness he couldn’t tell the difference between the sides. He cut down people as he fought against the other man inside his own head. How many of the other side did he get? How many of his own had been killed by his own hand?

Something inside him snapped, and his sobs morphed into choked giggles. Did anything matter anymore? Anger burned in his chest, and with each moment that passed, it grew stronger. He raised his head up to the sky, maniacal laughter filling the empty room as tears continued to stream down his face. The roaring fire flared even higher, overtaking him in its entirety. He staggered to his feet. There was nothing left for him to lose. Aching pain filled his heart. He would make everyone else feel the anguish he felt. He would make them suffer, just as he had. He was a broken man held together by fury. It was all that fueled him. They had taken everything that he cared about from him. For that, the world would burn.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and feedback are much appreciated :)  
> You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MelodicMars) @MelodicMars


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